January 2018

The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) gained more than 100 new members recently after the Alfred State College chapter held its inaugural induction ceremony in December in the Orvis Activities Center Auditorium.

During the ceremony, the auditorium roared with the clapping and cheering of supportive friends and family as the inductees crossed the stage to receive their certificates. In addition to the students, two advisers were inducted, as well.

The National Society of Leadership and Success is the nation’s largest leadership society, with chapters at 598 colleges. It was founded in 2001 by Gary Tuerack with the sole purpose of creating lasting positive change.

Community service and personal growth are encouraged of members as they build their leadership skills. To qualify for induction, a student must maintain a minimum GPA, attend a series of leadership broadcasts and participate in teambuilding and goal setting groups.

Posted Date: Thursday, January 4, 2018 - 14:00Pictured at the 2017 Project Prom Dress Extravaganza
event is Kaitlyn Cook, a current senior at Alfred-Almond
Central School and daughter of Rose Cook, who is
employed by ACES (Auxiliary Campus Enterprises and
Services) at Alfred State.

Alfred State is excited to announce that Project Prom Dress Extravaganza 2018 will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 15 in the Pioneer Center on the Alfred campus.

A student-driven initiative, Project Prom Dress has grown tremendously over the past four years, thanks to the passion of the sisters of Delta Chi Omega. All year long, the girls work hard collecting new or gently used prom gowns, shoes, and accessories from local bridal shops or individuals.

Then in April, their hard work comes to life, as they invite teenage girls from Allegany County and surrounding areas to come to their Extravaganza event at Alfred State, where they can choose a gown free of charge.

“We typically have more than 100 local high school-aged girls attend this annual event,” said Alfred State Event Concierge Sandra Burdick. “Thanks to the hard work of our Delta Chi Omega sisters and the generosity of our donors, we are able to provide these girls with beautiful gowns, shoes, and more free of charge in order to hopefully make their prom day even more special.”

Also on April 15, the Delta Chi Omega sisters will be collecting donations of gowns, shoes, and accessories.

Alfred State wishes to thank its amazing donors for this year’s event, including PromGirl, of Middletown, DE; Belle Ruche Bridal Boutique, of Olean; JBK Bridal and Prom, of Montour Falls; Bonjulies, of Horseheads; Bella You, of Rochester; Stella’s Bridal Boutique, of LeRoy; and the Purple Iris, of Horseheads; as well as several individual donors.

Borrowing the message from Sister Sledge’s hit song of 1979, Alfred State College President Dr. Skip Sullivan reminded faculty and staff Monday during his Opening Remarks speech that “We Are Family.”

During his presentation, Sullivan identified the four core values of the college – respect, integrity, service, and dedication – as the roots of the Alfred State Family.

“What would make Alfred State’s family stronger? Certainly, if we embrace the core values that we just spoke of, that will enhance the Alfred State Family,” he said.

The president also noted that Alfred State employees build support and create a family bond just by working together.

“I contend that as a college, we are stronger together than we are as individuals,” he said.

And while conflicts may arise between employees as they do between siblings, Sullivan said, those employees still have one another’s backs because that is how families behave.

“Yes we may have our disagreements, like brothers and sisters do,” he said, “but we stick up for Alfred State and we stick up for one another at the end of the day.”

Sullivan concluded by urging all employees to be “Alfred State Strong.”

“I want to thank you for your attention today, your service to our college and our students, and I want you to leave with one thought: We’re part of the Alfred State Family, and we need to take care of Alfred State,” he said, just prior to dismissing the crowd as the Sister Sledge song “We Are Family” played in the background.

Additionally, the president also spoke about the college’s 2018 legislative agenda, new initiatives, programs in development, construction and facilities, the college’s budget, achievements, athletics, civic engagement, and more.

Competing against more than three dozen other entries from across the State University of New York (SUNY) system, Alfred State’s own Torin Murphy came away with the top prize in the eighth annual SUNYWide Film Festival held at Buffalo State.

Murphy, an East Branch native who earned his digital media and animation bachelor’s degree from Alfred State in May 2017, received the Grand Jury Award for his animated film, “Other Real.”

The film was one of 39 overall from 10 SUNY campuses that were accepted into the festival, out of more than 150 that were submitted from 23 SUNY schools. “Other Real” tells the story of a man who, against his will, is pulled through a screen into a strange world beyond reality, populated by equally unreal creatures.

The Grand Jury winner has the highest-scoring film out of all of the submissions, as determined by the festival’s five-person grand jury. Aaron Daniel Annas, director of the SUNYWide Film Festival and an assistant professor of media production at Buffalo State, said, to his knowledge, this is the first time an animated film has won the top prize.

“Congratulations to Torin on his landmark win at the SUNYWide Film Festival,” Annas said. “It was exciting to see his passion, skill, and dedication to his art bring the spotlight to the category of animation at this year’s festival.”

Alfred State graduate Torin Murphy, right, won the Grand Jury Award in the eighth annual
SUNYWide Film Festival held at Buffalo State. Also pictured is Aaron Daniel Annas,
director of the SUNYWide Film Festival and an assistant professor of media production at
Buffalo State.

Being named the winner, Annas said, came as a bit of a shock to Murphy.

“We did not announce before the awards ceremony that the Grand Jury Award winner is not eligible to win the category prizes,” he said. “By the time we reached our Grand Jury Award announcement, we had given out the winners in the animation category. Most likely, Torin believed that he had not won any awards for his film. When we announced him as the top winner at the festival, he appeared to be flabbergasted. It was a neat moment.”

Speaking to the crowd after receiving his award, Murphy said, “I honestly didn’t expect to win this. I want to thank my girlfriend for not submitting (her film) because she would have beat me.”

Held for the first time in Buffalo in 2017, the SUNYWide Film Festival is intended to highlight the film and video work of students and faculty in the SUNY system. The festival’s 2017 keynote speaker was Kyle Bradstreet, award-winning executive producer for “Mr. Robot” on USA Network and a Buffalo State alum.

Launched in 2009 by Phil Hastings, associate professor of film and video arts at SUNY Fredonia, the event has since grown into one of the top student festivals in the Northeast. Selected films and videos from previous SUNYWide Film Festivals have gone on to earn awards at other national and regional film festivals. To date, more than 800 students have submitted films and videos to compete in the SUNY event.

Service to others is one of the many values that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. cherished and encouraged throughout his lifetime. Embodying the legacy that Dr. King left behind, Alfred State students, faculty, and staff all devote their time and efforts to make their community and the world a better place.

One way in which Alfred State pays tribute to Dr. King is by honoring those who represent his spirit of service. This year, the college will host its eighth annual Spirit of Service Award Ceremony at 5 p.m. Jan. 30 in the community room at the Union University Church, 29 N. Main St., Alfred.

This ceremony continues to be a collaborative program between Alfred State and Alfred University. It is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

Each year during the ceremony, the college presents a student, a faculty or staff member, and a community member with a Spirit of Service Award, which recognizes and celebrates those in the Greater Alfred community who demonstrate a strong commitment to serving others. The award is intended to honor people who are actively living out the principles Martin Luther King Jr. stood for, including equality, social justice, community, and service.

Last year’s recipients were Guifang Lui (Master Fang), a local Tai Chi instructor; Kelly Harrison, secretary for Human Resources at Alfred State; and Larissia Hall, a technology management major from Keuka Park. Hagar Professor of Natural Science and Professor of Geology Dr. Michele Hluchy was presented with the 2017 Alfred University Faculty/Staff Spirit of Service Award. Alfred University student Mawia Elawad was presented with the 2017 Alfred University Student Spirit of Service Award.

The college also recognizes students, faculty, and staff who demonstrate leadership through civic engagement by presenting the College Council Leadership through Civic Engagement Award and the Newman Civic Fellows Award.

Examples of some of the civic engagement opportunities that Alfred State is a part of include Celebrate Service Celebrate Allegany and Community Action Day, both of which are days of community service projects that take place throughout the local community. During the 2016-2017 academic year, students performed approximately 80,000 hours of community service through class-based applied learning and co-curricular programs.

Dr. Nicholas Waddy, associate professor in Alfred State’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, is the author of a newly published textbook titled, “The Essential Guide to Western Civilization.”

Published by Routledge, the 412-page textbook “offers a concise overview of European history developed to suit the undergraduate Western civilization curriculum,” according to a description on the publisher’s website, routledge.com.

The description adds, “Author Nicholas L. Waddy provides an accessible account of major developments in European history in a flexible format. The book will serve as a core text for instructors wishing to build a syllabus including primary sources, articles, and visual materials of their own choosing. Discussion questions and a list of key terms at the end of each chapter will help to guide conversation and assist students in navigating the Western civilization survey.”

Providing his thoughts on the book, Waddy said, “As someone who has taught Western civilization classes for 15 years, I perceived the need for a textbook that was affordable, accessible to the modern student, and most of all brief enough that students could realistically assimilate what it had to say. Years ago a publisher suggested that I write such a book myself, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ It was a massive project in the end, so it's extremely gratifying to see it come to fruition, and I have very high hopes for the book.”

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s Lake Erie Regional Grape Program has announced the addition of Alfred State alumna Jackie Dresser as the viticulture extension specialist. Dresser is the newest member of a four-person extension team, which assists area grape growers with the implementation of research-based information.

Dresser started on the research side of LERGP and brings her experience with spatial data analytics, GIS mapping and coordination of viticultural trials involving proximal sensing and variable rate management from her time spent as a research technician on the “Efficient Vineyard” project headed up by Dr. Terry Bates.

Dresser was born and raised in the Finger Lakes region and apprenticed with a Land Surveying firm in Ithaca from 2006-12. She passed the first phase of state Professional Land Surveying Licensure exams after earning a Bachelor of Science degree in surveying engineering technology from Alfred State College in 2012.

Working on surveying projects with Finger Lakes vineyard owners led to an opportunity to join the Finger Lakes wine industry, where she was involved in production and sales (both retail and wholesale). She also developed a vineyard-mapping program using proximal sensing to integrate Precision Viticulture technology into vineyard management.

Dresser is delighted to be joining the LERGP extension team, and is looking forward to learning all she can about the Lake Erie juice and wine grape industry. She sees crop estimation, at the vineyard level for growers and belt wide for processors, as a critical industry need that can provide the information necessary to make critical management decisions during the growing season.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania.

Posted Date: Monday, January 22, 2018 - 10:00Pictured is the group of volunteers that traveled to Houston in December to assist
with Hurricane Harvey disaster relief. In the front row, from left to right, are Carla
Badio, Sarah Farnum, Liam Hunt, Tracey Ziewers, Esthefany Gordillo, and John
Buckwalter (retired Alfred State faculty member). In the second row, from left to
right, are Jessica Lippa (assistant professor of Nursing at Alfred State), Steven
Jakobi (retired Alfred State faculty member), Lydia Barber, and Tiffany Carpio.
In the third row, from left to right, are Rachel Marsh, Cade Casey, Reno Cheshire,
Geoffrey Lippa (visiting professor in biology at Alfred University), Steven Lock,
and Joseph Raziano. All of the students are from Alfred State.

With Houston continuing to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Alfred State recently fielded a team of volunteers to help provide the city with some much-needed disaster relief.

Altogether, 12 Alfred State students, two retired faculty members, one current faculty member, and a community volunteer made the trip to Texas last month to partner with disaster relief organization All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response in making a difference in the community.

For five days, the group focused on debris removal, mucking and gutting, and sanitation work inside buildings, specifically the removal of mud and other semi-solid material from homes, removal of construction materials and protruding nails, eradicating abnormal mold and mildew growth, and a final and thorough cleaning of any remaining dried or wet remnants from the structure.

According to Jonathan Hilsher, director of Alfred State’s Center for Civic Engagement, this was the 20th team that the college has fielded with All Hands and Hearts in supporting disaster relief efforts throughout the nation since the two formed a partnership in 2005.

The team, Hilsher said, included a diverse group of hard-working, community-minded students and a strong leadership team, including retired Alfred State faculty Steven Jakobi and John Buckwalter; Jessica Lippa, an assistant professor in the Alfred State Nursing Department; and Jessica’s husband, Geoffrey Lippa, who is a visiting professor in biology at Alfred University.

“This group exemplified the spirit of the season by generously investing their time, effort, and resources to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey,” Hilsher said. “They are just the latest example of the strong Alfred State tradition of pitching in to help in times of disaster and need.”

Jessica Lippa described the journey as “incredible.”

“There was overwhelming love and hope within the people who had lost their homes,” she said. “The volunteers truly cared for each other and were a tenacious army of courage. In a season of giving, it was incredible to feel the love for one another, and at the core of human nature, that is all that is necessary.”

She added, “In the end, we completed small projects, but All Hands and Hearts as a whole is working toward bringing hope to those who were devastated by the hurricane. In fact one homeowner was overcome with gratitude and stated that the volunteers are ‘angels without wings.’”

Alfred State student Joseph Raziano, right, assists the
team leader during a recent disaster relief trip to Houston.

With winter break coming to a close, Alfred State welcomed its students back to campus this week for the start of a brand-new spring semester.

Among those returning were hundreds of scholars who made the dean’s list for the fall 2017 semester. To be listed, students must have completed at least 12 credit hours for the semester and earned a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) out of a possible 4.0.

For the most recent semester, the dean’s list includes 758 students. In addition, 205 of these students achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Dr. Kristin Poppo, provost at Alfred State, said, “We are proud to have so many academically gifted students here at Alfred State. It is through their dedication and hard work that they have been able to achieve the dean’s list. When combining these traits with our hands-on, applied learning approach, these students will be well-prepared for the careers they are seeking.”

The dean for the School of Architecture, Management, and Engineering Technology (SAMET) confirms 370 students received the honor. The dean’s list for the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) includes 157 students. At the School of Applied Technology (SAT), another 224 students made the dean’s list. A total of seven continuing education students were named to the dean’s list, as well.

The college congratulates all of the students who earned dean’s list honors. The students’ hometown newspapers receive information regarding honorees, including details for each student earning a perfect 4.0 GPA. The complete dean’s list is available online at www.alfredstate.edu/deans-list.

Alfred State is proud of its many academic achievers. Pictured with Orvis the
mascot at last month’s National Society of Leadership and Success induction,
from left to right, are inductees Cassandra Robbers (business administration,
Almond), Amber Sirline (interior design, Angelica), and Brianna Swartz
(architecture, Fort Plain).

Alfred State is pleased to announce that the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) has granted its automotive service technician program a five-year reaccreditation at the highest level NATEF offers – Master Automobile Service Technology.

The mission of NATEF, according to its website, natef.org, is “to improve the quality of automotive technician training programs nationwide at secondary and postsecondary, public and proprietary schools. To accomplish this mission, NATEF examines the structure, resources, and quality of training programs, and evaluates them against standards established by the industry. These standards reflect the skills that students must master to be successful in the industry.”

Some of the benefits to accreditation, the website states, are increasing the potential for funding from public and corporate sources, identifying program excellence, providing assurance of a higher-quality education, ensuring a pool of highly trained entry-level technicians, and increasing the level of professionalism in the industry.

Achieving accreditation or reaccreditation requires a five-step process: 1. Downloading accreditation documents 2. An extensive program self-evaluation 3. A review of the application by NATEF 4. An on-site evaluation by NATEF and 5. Program accreditation, which is achieved once industry requirements are met. The program then becomes NATEF-accredited for a five-year period from the date of the accreditation.

According to Eric Wilmot, chair of Alfred State’s Automotive Trades Department, the process of being reaccredited is quite rigorous, with compiling and organizing the data alone taking about six months to complete. The on-site visit takes about one or two days, in which a team of four evaluates course materials, facilities, and equipment based on technology and safety standards.

In the end, however, all of the hard work put forth by the faculty and students is well worth it.

“Overall, the importance of NATEF accreditation ensures respect in the automotive industry – respect from students, parents, other institutions, and employers,” Wilmot said. “The entire automotive service industry can be confident that, with this major being a NATEF Master Automobile Service Technology program, we will produce top-quality technicians.”